Craig and Vicki Leuthold, founders of the Maryhill Winery in Goldendale, Wash., say they plan to build a 5,000-square-foot satellite tasting room in the Kendall Yards development just northwest of downtown Spokane and expect to open it next fall.
“Our new tasting room in Spokane will allow us to meet increasing demand not only of our wine, but in the relaxed, welcoming experience we’ve tried so hard to cultivate at our tasting room in the Gorge,” Craig Leuthold says in a recent press release.
The Leutholds, who are Spokane natives, opened their winery along the Columbia River Gorge east of The Dalles, Ore., in 2001, and it now is one of the state’s largest wineries, producing 80,000 cases per year.
The tasting room there encompasses 3,000 square feet with another 1,200-square-foot reserve room and an outdoor amphitheater that draws more than 75,000 wine tasters each year, making it among the five most visited wineries in the state, the Leutholds say.
At the beginning of this year, the Leutholds began the designs for the planned tasting room here, which will have an outdoor balcony overlooking the Spokane River and downtown Spokane.
The Journal couldn’t reach the Leutholds for comment. However, Emily Petterson, a spokeswoman for Weinstein PR Inc., a Portland-based marketing firm for Maryhill Winery, says many details about the new winery haven’t been finalized.
“We plan to have a better sense of what a fall opening means by June or July,” says Petterson, who adds that initial designs for the tasting room envision it being about to accommodate as many as 250 people.
“Kendall Yards offers open space, fresh air, public art, and a diverse mix of businesses making it an ideal location for our tasting room,” Craig Leuthold says in the press release.
Maryhill Winery says it sources more than 30 varietals of grapes from across Washington and produces more than 50 wines.
Maryhill Winery has been recognized with more than 3,000 awards since its first vintage in 2001, including being named 2015 Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year by Wine Press Northwest, and the 2014 Winery of the Year at the San Francisco International Wine Competition.